


Bruised And Battered

by afteriwake



Series: Deserving [5]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-14
Updated: 2014-01-14
Packaged: 2018-01-08 16:46:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1135055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Molly has an unexpected visit from an injured Greg, and she takes care of him as best she can.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bruised And Battered

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I am _finally_ coming back to this series (with two stories, natch). Many thanks to **imagineyourotp** for inspiring me with the following prompt: "Imagine Person A coming home from a fight, battered and bruised. Although Person B is shocked and appalled by Person A's appearance, they draw a bath for Person A and tend to their wounds. Person B worries about Person A, but Person A assures them they'll be alright. They both kiss as Person B continues to tend to Person A's wounds."

New Year's came and went, and Molly couldn't have been happier. This relationship with Greg was absolutely fantastic. She was happy, far happier than she had really expected to be. For once, she was getting the type of relationship she deserved, and she was fulfilled and happy. The only problem was that she was so used to being disappointed that she was waiting for the other shoe to drop. She hated feeling that way, but it was always a niggling thought in the back of her mind. The only thing that could have really troubled her was that Greg wasn't rushing to introduce her to his daughter, but she understood why. Even though Rebecca was happy for her father, or so Greg said, it was still something to get used to. It would happen soon enough, she thought, and so she was waiting. Still, she didn't let it bother her too much of the time.

They had been together for just about a month the night she brought some of her paperwork home with her. If she spent one more second in her office she was going to scream, she had realized earlier that day, and while she wasn't really supposed to bring it home she did anyway. But as long as she brought it all back the next day hospital management didn't care too much. Most people liked to spend as little time in the morgue as possible, she had realized over the years. She'd just been writing up some results when she heard the knock on her door. She frowned as she got up. She wasn't expecting anyone tonight. She made her way to the door and opened it, gasping as she saw Greg standing there, obviously hurt. “What the bloody hell happened to you?” she asked as she moved out of the way so he could come in.

“A really bad day,” he said. He was clutching his side slightly and she was instantly worried. “The paramedics already checked me over, but I didn't want to sit in a hospital for hours.” He looked over at her. “I don't want to go home to Rebecca like this.”

“Of course not,” she said. “What happened?”

“A suspect with a knife fought back,” he said. “You know that mixed martial arts stuff?” She nodded. “Combine that with a knife and you're in for a really bad evening.”

“Oh my God,” she said, her eyes wide.

“I have a few gashes and bruised ribs and a lot of black and blue marks,” he said. “I can't hide all of it from my daughter, but I can at least look better.”

“Can you get into a bathtub?” she asked.

“I think I can,” he said with a nod before wincing. “That hurt a lot more than I had thought it would.”

“Let me draw you a bath,” she said, gently putting an arm around his waist. “Soak away some of the soreness for a while. Do you have pain medication?”

“Yeah. Not very strong stuff, but it will do the trick. I usually keep it in my office, just in case something like this happens. I picked it up when I got the change of clothes I keep there too.” She noticed for the first time he was holding a bag because he lifted it up slightly. “A bath sounds really good right now.”

“Then I'll go start one and you can soak for a while. I'll make something for you to eat, so you don't take your pills on an empty stomach.” She led him to her washroom and then sat him on her toilet. “Sit here while I get the bath started.”

He nodded again, less fervently this time, and he leaned back slightly. “I'm sorry if I scared you showing up like this.”

“You have a dangerous job,” she said, turning on the faucets. “I should have expected this. Does your daughter know you were hurt?”

“No. I should probably tell the people watching her, though, shouldn't I?”

“That might be best,” Molly said with a nod. She watched as Greg pulled out his phone and dialed a number. She concentrated on making sure the bath was hot but not scalding. When he was finishing up his call she went to the cabinet under her sink and pulled out a box of Epsom salt, sprinkling a lot of it into the water. “How did it go?”

“She's going to stay the night there tonight,” he said. “They put her on the phone so I could assure her I was okay.”

“You shouldn't be home alone tonight,” she said with a frown. “I mean, you're injured. You didn't even go to a hospital. What if you have a concussion or something like that?” She shook her head. “You're staying here tonight. I'll sleep on the sofa if I have to, but you're not going home tonight.”

“You can sleep next to me,” he said slowly. “I mean, if it's not too forward.”

She nodded. “All right. I just hope I don't hurt you in your sleep.” She turned off the faucets now that the bath was mostly full and stood up. “Strip down and climb in and soak until the water gets cold. My neighbor is about your size so I'll see if I can borrow something for you to sleep in tonight. I'll just leave it outside the door for when you're done.”

He nodded and stood up, not without some pain, but before she moved away from him he grasped her hand. She stopped, and he stepped closer, kissing her softly. “Thank you,” he said when he pulled away.

She smiled at him, reaching up to caress his cheek slightly. “It's the least I could do.” He let go of her and she left the washroom so he could go soak. She left her apartment and went to her neighbor next door. He had seen Greg outside the door so she hadn't had to do much explaining as to why she needed something for him to sleep in, and as soon as she got the clothes from her neighbor she went back in and went to the washroom. She knocked on the door. “Your clothes are outside. When you're done come out but don't put your shirt on. I want to have a look at those gashes.”

“All right,” Greg called out from the other side of the door. “Thank you again.”

She went back into her sitting room and began to gather up her paperwork from the table. She put it on her desk and then went into the kitchen, beginning to cook. She had only planned on making a meal with one serving, but she had enough ingredients to make something with four servings so she made that instead. This way Greg could eat two servings if he needed and he'd have one more for tomorrow. She had just put the meal in the oven when she heard the washroom door open and then close again. A few minutes after that the door opened again and he came out. “The water couldn't possibly be cold yet,” she said with a frown.

“Sitting like that hurt too much,” he replied. “But I do feel better.” He ran a hand through his wet hair, and she could see that he had multiple gashes on his upper torso and arms. At least they weren't bleeding as much. Not all of them looked deep, but one or two should have had stitches. If it came down to it and the bandages didn't hold them shut she could drive him to the hospital and get him stitched up.

“Sit down over at my table,” she said. “I'm going to get my first aid kit.” She moved past him to go back into her washroom and she retrieved her kit from under the sink. It was a bit larger than a regular kit, and it was stocked with hospital grade supplies. She wasn't above admitting she'd filched some of it from a supply closet once or twice when she couldn't find it in a store or order it online. She took the kit out to her table and saw he was sitting down, waiting patiently. She set her kit on the table and opened it up, pulling out antiseptic to start. “This is going to sting,” she warned.

“I bet,” he said. She took some gauze and put some of the antiseptic on it, then went to the wounds and began cleaning them. He winced and grit his teeth, but generally he stayed quiet. She didn't know if any of his ribs were broken, but once she took care of the cuts she could bandage them up for him so at least if they were they'd start healing. She worked on him quietly, trying not to think about the fact he was in her home with no shirt on, bruised and battered. If she concentrated on taking care of him she would stop panicking in her head that it all could have gone so much worse.

“You should have gone to the hospital,” she said when she got to bandaging up the last cut. It appeared as though her butterfly bandages were going to hold the wound shut, and so she put gauze over it and taped it down. “You could have broken ribs, you know.”

“I've had broken ribs before. They aren't broken.”

“Were you the only one hurt?” she asked, going back to her kit and looking for something to bind his ribs with.

He nodded. “Well, other than the suspect. Sally finally got a clear shot and shot him in the shoulder. He dropped the knife at that point and we were able to get him under arrest.”

She looked down. “You could have been hurt so much worse. He could have killed you, Greg,” she said quietly.

He looked at her for a moment, then reached over and pulled her onto his lap. She knew this had to have hurt, but as he put an arm around her she found she wanted to be close to him. She placed her hands on his chest, curling her fingertips lightly in the hair there. “I have a dangerous job, but I try my best to be safe. Days like today are very rare,” he said quietly. “You don't need to worry about me.”

“I'm going to worry anyway,” she said with a slight smile, looking down at him. She moved her hands up to cup his face. “Face it. You got a worrier for a girlfriend.”

“Well, it could be worse,” he said, giving her a grin.

“Yeah? How?”

“You could not care at all.”

“Well, I care very much as it is,” she said.

“I care very much too.”

She leaned in and kissed him softly, forgetting for a moment that there were still injuries to take care of. Right now she wanted proof that he was more or less okay, and she wanted to get comfort as much as give it. She pulled away from the kiss after a few minutes and got off his lap. “I need to finish patching you up.”

“Of course, Dr. Hooper,” he said with a chuckle that he immediately regretted, as he winced. “I shouldn't have done that.”

“Probably not,” she said as she had a chuckle of her own. “Let's get you taken care of and get some food in you so you can take those pills you have. Then you're going to get some rest.”

“You'll be there next to me, right?” he asked quietly, looking up at her.

“Yes,” she said with a nod. “If that's what you want.”

“That's what I want,” he said.

“Then that's what will happen.” She gave him a grin before she reached into her kit for the bandages to tape up his ribs. He was okay, he was safe, and right now that was what was important. Right now she just wanted to take care of him. She'd deal with all the thoughts and worries tomorrow.


End file.
